1. Field of the invention.
This invention relates to a control device and more particularly to a hand-held control device detecting multiple degrees of freedom of movement.
2. Related art.
In the past joysticks of various kinds have been used. They generally comprise a lever with a handle at one end. The other end of the lever is attached to linkages, potentiometers, tensiometers or accelerometers. Movement of the handle is transferred to a mechanical object to be moved, or generates electrical signals which stimulate an electrical object, or is converted to another form of energy to control some other medium.
Accelerometers have been commonly used in the past for such functions as guidance control of missiles. Early accelerometers were of an electro-mechanical nature and were usually bulky and complicated. With the introduction of electrostatic accelerometers their size and complexity have been reduced.
With today's micro mechanical and micro electronics manufacturing techniques, manufacturers are producing accelerometers of various kinds in small packages some of which incorporate electronic signal processing. The present invention uses such miniature accelerometers in a hand-held joystick able to detect at least six degrees of freedom of movement.